Open Source Software Companies

Open Source software has long been an interest of mine - as a developer contributing to Open Source, a user of different Open Source applications and operating systems and finally as an investor in Montavista Software.  I was reading an article by Will Price last week discussing some of the issues with Open Source business models and decided to take a look at the Open Source landscape to get a broad update.

With all the collections of lists that litter the Internet I was surprised to find an absence of a list of Open Source companies.  I decided to build my own list (which I've included at the end of this article) as a way of thinking through some of the issues (and opportunities!) of investing in Open Source companies.

The list is certain to be incomplete; I gleaned the list from multiple web searches, browsing the Wikipeadia, a map mashup showing Open Source companies and a lot of general browsing.

I classified the companies as best as I could based on their web sites - as an aside, it was impossible to tell what many of these companies did (or the value proposition for customers for that matter) from a simple look at their web sites.  In many cases I had to go look at the products they were offering to find out what the company did!  So much for first impressions...

The criteria for adding a company to the list were;

• Must have a commercial purpose - whether selling software licenses or providing support and enhancement services. 
• Offer downloads of their software under either the GPL or their own versions of an Open Source license. 
• Had to have a product offering - pure consulting companies were not included

As Will noted in his article, the majority of companies offer a dual licensing model - you can download software for free but there is either a supported or enhanced version that is sold under a commercial license.

Although there are clearly some areas that are heading for over-investment, many green field opportunities remain.  The choice of business model remains THE key issue.

Open Source Company List

Applications

• XWiki - Wiki Application

Business Process

• Intalio - BPM tools
• Pentaho - BI platform

Compatability Tools

• CodeWeavers - Tools to run Windows apps on Linux

Consumer Electronics

• Neuros - Media players
• SlimDevices - Audio media players

Content Management

• Alfresco - Enterprise content management solutions
• eZSystems
• Infrae
• Nuxeo

CRM

• SugarCRM - Customer Relationship Management solutions

Database

• db4Objects - Object database for Java and .NET
• EnterpriseDB - RDBMS based on PostgreSQL
• GreenPlum - Database servers for business intelligence
• Ingres - RDBMS based on Ingres
• MySQL - MySQL RDBMS
• Sleepycat Software - RDBMS based ob Berkeley DB (now part of Oracle)

Developer Support

• ActiveState - Open source language tools (Perl, PHP, etc)
• CollabNet - On-demand collaboration tools for distributed development
• GlassBox - Diagnostic tools for Java programmers
• Koders - Search for Open Source software
• Krugle - Search for Open Source software

Document Management

• KnowledgeTree - Document management system

Embedded System Support

• Montavista Software - Linux distribution for intelligent devices & infrastructure
• TimeSys - Tools for custom embedded Linux distribution
• TrollTech - Tools for Enterprise & portable devices device applications

Enterprise Application Support

• OpenLogic - Infrastructure management tools and certified library of Open Source apps
• Optaros - Consulting & integration services for Enterprise apps built on Open Source
• SourceLabs - Support services for certified stacks of Open Source software
• SpikeSource - Certified Open Source stacks and applications
• Univa - Enterprise version of Globus grid software
• XenSource - Enterprise version of Xen Virtualization software
• Zend - Tools to deploy & maintain PHP applications

ERP

• Compiere - ERP applications with integrated CRM
• OpenPro - Licensed ERP applications built on Open Source

Intellectual Property Management

• BlackDuck Software - Compliance management tools to detect use of Open Source
• Palamida - IP management for Open and Closed Source

IT Management

• ActiveGrid - Management tools for LAMP applications
• FiveRuns - Systems Management
• GroundWork Open Source - Management and monitoring of IT infrastructure
• Hyperic - Monitor & control IT infrastructure
• Qlusters - Software to automate Enterprise Data Centers
• Zenoss - Enterprise IT management system
• Zmanda - Data protection solutions for backup and restore

Linux Distributions

• Canonical - Ubuntu Linux for desktop and enterprise
• Linspire - Desktop
• Mandriva - Desktop & Enterprise
• Miracle Linux - Miracle distribution
• Red Flag - Asiaux distribution
• Red Hat - Desktop & Enterprise
• SunWah
• Xandros - Desktop

Messaging

• Collax - Enterprise/SME messaging and security
• Funambol - Push email to mobile devices
• Scalix - Messaging infrastructure platform
• SendMail - Enterprise messaging products
• Zimbra - Enterprise messaging

Network Software

• OpenClovis - Platform software for carrier grade telco systems
• Vyatta - Network Infrastructure software for routers & switches

Report Writer

• JasperSoft - Report Generator

Security

• SourceFire - Network security products based on Snort

SOA

• LogicBlaze - Enterprise SOA platform

Telephony

• Digium - Asterisk Open Source PBX

Comments

[Stu]

I've added Zope to the republished list of Open Source companies but didn't add Sipphone. As best as I can tell, you can't download a copy of the source of Sipphone - one of the criteria I started with for adding a company to the list.

[Michael Bernstein]

And Zope Corporation http://zope.com

[Michael Bernstein]

You need to add SIPPhone: http://www.sipphone.com/

[Stu]

Kit, Thanks for the pointer - I added Infrae to the list!

[kit BLAKE]

May I suggest another company that fits the criteria: Infrae, located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. All of its products are released solely under the BSD license. Infrae has existed for over five years and has clients in nine countries. This makes it a successful business, albeit not one with an innovative business model.